kayla itsines

personal trainer

What makes you feel healthy?

Maintaining a consistent exercise routine and nourishing my body with foods from all five food groups is what makes me feel healthy and happy. My body has developed a habit off my healthy lifestyle and it thrives off it. I love that it brings me enough energy to get through the day!

What are the most nutritious foods?

“When ordering pasta, opt for a side of roast vegetables and potato instead of deep-fried hot chips.”

I believe it’s important to fuel your body with a variety of foods in order to get a good balance of both macro- and micronutrients. I personally try to eat whole foods at every meal. I think eating healthy nutritious foods shouldn’t be something you need to monitor constantly. It’s a long-term lifestyle change that should be realistic and maintainable.

What are the most common mistakes girls make when it comes to fitness and diet?

Girls often have the all-or-nothing attitude where they fluctuate between taking their health seriously by eating extremely healthy and exercising every day, to doing absolutely nothing at all. This yo-yo type of attitude can be a major cause for rapid weight gain or weight loss, bloating, disappointment and emotional eating. My tip is to not overdo it. Take things slowly and make small, realistic changes. Soon your body will develop a habit that it can maintain long-term!

“My tip is to not overdo it. Take things slowly and make small, realistic changes. Soon your body will develop a habit that it can maintain long-term!”

How do you stay on track when you travel?

When I am travelling, I try to walk as much as possible, but sometimes this can be difficult when my schedule is really busy. Alternatively, I ‘relax’ at night in the hotel gym by doing one of my 28-minute Bikini Body Training Guide workouts.

“My BBG is designed for girls to become leaner and stronger; it’s not about losing weight, I want girls to focus on how they feel.”

When you go out to dinner, how do you navigate the menu?

I actually eat out quite often because of the travelling I do for work. There are so many healthy options on menus, you just have to be smart with your choices. My tip is to try and make small healthy swaps with what you like on the menu. For example, choose a red-based sauce over a creamy sauce when ordering pasta and opt for a side of roast vegetables and potato instead of deep-fried hot chips.

“There are so many healthy options on menus, you just have to be smart with your choices. My tip is to try and make small healthy swaps with what you like on the menu.”

Do you cook every day?

Like everybody, I do not always have time to cook every single meal each day, so I always plan in advance and pre-prepare food or meals when I know I won’t have time. Being organised and knowing your schedule in advance can really help when it comes to meal prep. Even if it’s not actually cooking the food, knowing what you’re going to make so that you can prepare and have all of the ingredients handy can really help!

“I always plan in advance and pre-prepare food or meals when I know I won’t have time.”

Do you remember how your own fitness journey started?

During school, I always had a passion for playing sports and helping people. This passion led me to study personal training at the Australian Institute of Fitness. Things started to take off when I began to upload the amazing transformation pictures of my clients to my Instagram page. Their motivating and relatable transformations drew the attention of girls from all around the world who were curious as to how my clients and I were training and achieving these results.

“It is so important to invest time into stretching and foam rolling to help prevent injury and reduce post-workout muscle soreness.”

How do you train?

“Choose a red-based sauce over a creamy sauce when ordering pasta.”

I train exactly like my amazing BBG Girls – by following my guides! My training method consists of 28-minute resistance training sessions, which are only 2 per cent of your day. This makes it very easy to fit training into a busy schedule and maintain it long-term.

I generally do 3–4 of these resistance training sessions per week and do some light cardio most days when I walk my dogs, Ace and TJ. I also include 1 or 2 full rehabilitation sessions a week. It is so important to invest time into stretching and foam rolling to help prevent injury and reduce post-workout muscle soreness.

How do you challenge yourself with exercise?

A great way to challenge yourself is to aim to do the exercise better. Box jumps, for example, are a great exercise to challenge yourself as you can aim to jump higher and higher. I think it’s a great form of motivation when you can see your own personal progress.

“I think my program has received so much positive feedback because the results are from real women who have all achieved REAL results. It’s not a quick fix, and it’s not a fad. It’s a healthy, maintainable lifestyle change.”

Why is your Bikini Body Training Guide so popular?

Image: samieze.com

I think my program has received so much positive feedback because the results are from real women who have all achieved REAL results. It’s not a quick fix, and it’s not a fad. It’s a healthy, maintainable lifestyle change that is adaptable and realistic for women of all ages, body shapes and fitness levels.

My 28-minute high-intensity, plyometric training sessions are designed to help girls achieve the results they have been seeking – toned thighs, flatter stomachs and strong, slim arms, without having to spend hours in the gym every day. What sets my guides apart from other training programs is the end goal that women worldwide are achieving.

Rather than specifically being a weight-loss or a muscle-gaining program, it is simply a plan for women to develop a routine and discipline themselves to keep active and healthy in order to feel the confidence they deserve.

“It’s about working as hard as you can and pushing your body to develop a healthy routine in order to feel fit, toned and strong.”

Who is your guide suitable for?

“I do some light cardio most days when I walk my dogs, Ace and TJ.”

One of the best things about my Bikini Body Training Guide is it is a realistic exercise routine for all females aged over 16 years. It’s not about how many reps you can do, or racing to ‘beat’ the person next to you. It’s about working as hard as you can and pushing your body to develop a healthy routine in order to feel fit, toned and strong.

Again, my guides allow you to work out at an intensity that works for you. My BBG is designed for girls to become leaner and stronger; it’s not about losing weight. I want girls to focus on how they feel.

What do you recommend doing after completing the Bikini Body Training Guide?

The best thing about my Bikini Body Training Guide is that it is a guide to maintaining a healthy exercise regime. Once you have developed a habit and a consistent routine, exercising won’t feel like a chore, but it will become something you enjoy doing.

I recommend that once you have completed my guides you either redo the entire guide(s) from start to finish or select your favourite weeks at random. Either way, challenge yourself to complete more rounds of each circuit within 7 minutes without sacrificing the quality of training.

Image: usatoday.com

After 12 or 24 weeks, you can look back and tell yourself that you did that. No one was standing over you. No one was telling you what to do. You disciplined yourself to keep fit, healthy and active and in turn have developed confidence from your own hard work.

How does Instagram (and other social media) positively affect your business?

I believe social media is fundamental for the success of any business. For me, my social pages are amazing platforms where I can motivate, educate and inspire my BBG community. My mission is for my website and social media accounts to be the ‘go-to’ place for women’s health and fitness. I want all women to be able to read my posts and blogs knowing that the advice I give them is genuine and true.

“I think my Instagram profile has an honest and uplifting community vibe about it.”

I think my Instagram profile has an honest and uplifting community vibe about it. Instead of being focused entirely on me, I’ve based it on the results of others, whose hard work should definitely be celebrated! I love that all of my clients are real women with unique stories, who are all working hard and dedicating themselves to achieve their goals.

Image: the-mom.com

What are your three top tips for anyone starting out?

Consistency is key! Make small realistic changes as this way, you’ll be able to maintain those changes long-term.

Remind yourself why you started. Take progress photos to see your own personal progress and be your own motivation.

Join the BBG online community. It’s an uplifting, encouraging and motivating place where women all around the globe are there to help and support you.